ilikeitgreen - Green for Life!

While working for Frank Gehry, I would hear him say that his best projects were the ones with the most constraints. While it seems a bit counter-intuitive, it can be true that constraints can actually help sculpt good design. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not going to complain about a project with no [...]

  By Kevin Cullen The tankless water heater came into being around WWII, used mostly in Europe and Asia. It’s use on this side of the pond has become more prevalent in recent years due in part to it’s many benefits, but also to our realization that bigger is not always better. Tankless, or on-demand water heaters, [...]

A few months back I spent some time with writer Bridget Bradley talking about green design. I was thrilled to open the mail today and open up the book that includes some of our conversation: The Green Home: a Sunset Design Guide. In typical Sunset magazine fashion, this book is a lovely mixture of helpful [...]

I will be speaking at the reception for Berkeley’s Environmental Design Library’s “Stock Options: Houses for Everyone” this Thursday evening along with my great friend Dan Gregory (editor-in-chief of houseplans.com), Alfred Willis (architectural historian and librarian at Hampton University) and the always interesting John King (urban design critic) will be moderating. It should make for [...]

For all you Kindle users, our Prefab Green book is now available for the Kindle (as well as the hard cover physical versions too!) www.amazon.com

  By Kevin Cullen “I think I’ve died and gone to Pizza heaven!” So said one of our guests at a birthday celebration at our home last weekend. As someone who was weened on pizza from a very young age, I had to agree. A Long, Long Time Ago, before Twitter, cell phones and even video games, when families [...]

It is hard not to fall in love with this super cute prefab guesthouse egg by DMVA. It’s shell is designed with nooks that provide structural stability as well as storage and areas for sleeping, allowing the space inside to be kept clean and minimal. www.dmva.com

Our Glidehouse resides on newly waterfront property. Check out the water in the marsh below our deck. Last week (and for the past 3 years) there has been NO water there. None. And now, thanks to a week of rain, it is a few feet deep in some places. While it doesn’t make for a [...]

I was recently able to visit the LumenHAUS (designed by talented students at Virginia Tech for the Solar Decathlon last fall) while it was in a resting stop in between travels. Apparently it is headed to Times Square next week, and other locations around the country after that. I was very impressed. The design was lovely, [...]

During this time where finding good jobs for architects can be a challenge, I am happy to announce that a Boston-based company is seeking an Architectural Creative Director.  The company is currently around 20 people, but is growing the team. In this market, it is rare to find a company in the design and construction [...]

The amount of devastation that is unfolding after yesterday’s quakes in Haiti is almost incomprehensible. And, sadly, as we know from other significant tragedies like Hurricane Katrina, we know difficult days, months and years are ahead. Hopefully we can learn from mistakes made with the aftermath of other disasters, and make better decisions this time. Both [...]

This lovely chandelier appears grand and luxurious. But what is most interesting is when you look closer and see that it is actually made from bare old re-used incandescent bulbs. These out-dated inefficient bulbs are now being replaced with CFLs or LEDs by people wanting lower energy bills. But rather than having them go to [...]

When I think of the word Igloo, the Inuit name for shelter, freezing cold locales are the first thing to pop into my mind. Even colder than my native Iowa, and that is pretty darn cold. Perhaps the first form of completely sustainable building, Igloos are typically made of snow blocks formed into a dome [...]

What tops my “best of 2009″ list? That it is over. And so far I am absolutely loving 2010. With many exciting projects and initiatives brewing, this is looking to be a fabulous year and decade. I thought this New Years card from Lee Friedman sums it up nicely.

A client/friend of mine recently turned me on to this amazingly beautiful furniture by BDDW in New York. Each piece has history and tells a story. The “live” edges and irregularities in the wood not only add poetry, make each piece unique, but also greatly reduce waste in the wood.  Much of the wood is [...]

This past year has been a doozy. To say the least. I would not have made it through this year without the support of others. Support from friends, colleagues, and family. By the end of the year, these three categories have merged into one for me. Friends have become like family, and in many cases, colleagues. [...]

The Eames were creative and playful in just about everything they did. Including making holiday goodies such as these. The left photo is of Charles next to a “Christmas Tree” made of molded chair legs and candles. The right image is a holiday card they sent out where they are in a snow globe (and [...]

Today we had the great pleasure of visiting the Plastiki, an incredible boat and inspiring story. The Plastiki is a 60′ catamaran constructed out of reclaimed plastic bottles and will be sailing from San Francisco to Austrailia with a handpicked crew of adventurers, scientists and creatives. Visionary David de Rothschild leads this extraordinary team with [...]

A few weeks ago I wrote about designing homes for the hanging of laundry. Since then, my friends Jen Wilson and Jim Hoff sent me these lovely photos below that they have taken of laundry hanging in interesting ways such as making enclosed porches, adding color and pattern to facades. Jen and Jim are in [...]

It is that time of year for Kevin and I to decide on what type of tree we want to have for the holidays. We buy planted trees rather than cut trees, so that way we can then plant the tree in our yard afterwards. (I just have such a hard time buying a cut [...]